Michael Hale

Recently, I was talking to a twenty-something friend about the state of the world: climate change… stuff like that. I could see that, like many of her generation, it made her sad to contemplate it all. On a sudden inspiration, I showed her the title of a book: The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, by Charles Eisenstein. As she read those words, a big smile came over her face. We connected on that idea.

Eisenstein says: “… at the bottom of our Story of the World is the Story of Self, with its delusions of separation from other people, from nature, from Gaia, from anything we might call God.” This same conditioning sets us up to want to change others who don’t see things the same way–to criticize and judge others. Yet we know intuitively, or from bitter experience, that that won’t work. So what do we do? Eisenstein suggests that we begin to re-imagine life based on a new story–one of interbeing.

I need to remind myself about this–quite frequently it seems…

During a walk I encounter barbarians…

That may sound dramatic, but it is true. I’ll tell you the story: On a beautiful sunny day just before solstice (and before the big snowfall), I took a walk on our farm at the Yarrow Ecovillage in unceded Stó:lo territory.

I walked along the farm lane, past the Oak tree that my son planted 17 years ago on the edge of the plot of land that our family farmed.

I crossed the creek and took a path through the Permaculture Food Forest, part of a stream restoration project that turned a ditch into a vibrant, biodiverse ecosystem.

When I had gotten about 3/4 of the way on the path around the farm, along the eastern edge of our property, I came to the Kinder Morgan/Trans Mountain Pipeline project that has now advanced as far as our fence. The barbarians are at our gate.

Fossil capitalism’s days may be numbered, but the struggle is far from over folks. As I looked at that horrendous right of way for the new pipeline, I felt sick.

Taking A few deep breaths, and, turning away, my eyes took in the ponds of our constructed wetlands, and nearby, our outdoor school for children. I calmed down. I reflected on what Charles Eisenberg refers to as the “new story.”

I’m coming to the belief that we need to keep adding to the new story, until the old story of fossil capitalism no longer controls us, and the Planet can breathe again.